Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Happily Ever Afters

Elise Bryant's debut novel is a love letter to romance novel fans and people who struggle with loving themselves, and a 5 star read no questions asked. Tessa is starting at an elite new school, where she was lucky enough to be able to get into their writers program. The only problem? She hasn't been able to write at all since starting! Tessa has become consumed with a fear of failure, and worries that everyone is going to find out she is a fraud who doesn't fit in. Her family is loving and very supportive, but spend most of their time caring for her older brother who is disabled. (I love how the author dealt with Miles, it is so rare to see good disabled representation!) Tessa doesn't want to burden her parents further, and is immensely afraid of disappointing them as well. Her best friend, Caroline, may now be many miles away, but she comes up with a genius plan to help Tessa break through her writers block; fall in love using romance tropes! Sam is right across the street and bakes daily treats for her, but he dresses like a total dork. Luckily Tessa already has the perfect guy in mind, cool and artsy Nico who just so happens to look like a character from a story she is writing. There is only one obstacle, he has a girlfriend! (Who seems like a stereotypical mean girl!) What lengths will Tessa go to get her happily ever after, and get over her writers block? Will she tone herself down and keep quiet in order to stay with the "in crowd"? This book has everything you could want; a black main character, queerness, and disability representation. I really loved the scenes and love shown to Tessa and her hair, especially with her how Mom does her hair to connect with her. While the main character can be a little messy(aren't we all!) you can't help but root for her and her journey to realizing that the most important love story is loving yourself. After all is said and done, I know I will be returning to this author for more books after this fantastic read.

The Cover
I adore this cover! The color pops so well and it encapsulates the feeling and vibe of the book perfectly; a lighthearted story about a girl who spends way too much time thinking. I love how her head is angled up to her day dreams, instead of focusing on what is right next to her, the cupcake! The cover design is by Jessie Gang and the illustration is by Michelle D'Urbano.

Content Warnings

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book had me reading like I haven't read in MONTHS!!

Spoiler

Ratings lowered slightly because of how self-love is portrayed as a flip of a switch probably due to the rushing of the narrative in the last few chapters

Content Warnings